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British Tribunal Rules Church Organist Is Protected By Employment Rights Act

By Howard Friedman

Today's London Times reports that an employment tribunal in the North of England has held that a church organist is an "employee" protected from unfair dismissal by the Employement Rights Act of 1996. A tribunal order prohibits identifying the organist or the church involved in the case. The status of organists employed by the Church of England has been unclear. Mark Mansell, a British employment law attorney, said: "there is a movement away from treating people who work for the Church as people with a calling and towards treating them as a member of staff." A hearing will now be held on whether the dismissal of the eminent organist and choirmaster who filed the lawsuit was for a permissible reason.

Full post as published by Religion Clause on February 20, 2008 (boomark / email).